Challenges of forest management and adaptation of mountain forests to climate change: The case of Switzerland

Bio : Mathieu Lévesque is a Senior Scientist at ETH Zürich, where he leads the Silviculture Research Group. 

His interdisciplinary work focuses on understanding the vulnerability of native and non-native tree species to climate change and developing adaptive silvicultural strategies to enhance forest resilience. 

He has made significant contributions to advancing knowledge on how forests respond to drought, elevated atmospheric CO₂, nitrogen deposition, and human-induced disturbances. His research spans a wide range of forest ecosystems—from tropical forests in Central America to temperate and boreal forests in Europe and North America.

Description intervention : Forests cover one-third of Switzerland and provide essential ecosystem services to the population. Around 80% of the forest is located in mountainous regions, and half of the Swiss forest fulfills a protective function against gravitational hazards (avalanches, rockfall, landslides). Over the last few decades, Swiss forests have undergone considerable changes in their structure due to management, disturbances, and climate change. Despite a long tradition of close-to-nature silviculture in Switzerland and a relatively high degree of species diversity, forests are experiencing unprecedented changes due to global change, jeopardizing the provision of vital ecosystem services. In my talk, I will report on the most significant alterations observed in Swiss forests since the 1980s and highlight the drastic changes that have occurred over the last decade. The increase in mortality of the major tree species and the difficulty in regenerating and establishing species adapted to the future climate in mountain forests, due to socio-economic constraints and high browsing pressure by ungulates, are the most pressing challenges for forest managers.